A Fine Divide Between Pain and Pleasure
by Amthesky
Summary: An Al/Rachel romance that takes place right after Pale Demon. Rated M for sexual content and language.


**This is my first fanfic, I don't know what inspired it. It's a cliche Al/Rachel romance taking place after _Pale Demon. _**

The charmed silver fell from my wrist. _Freedom. _I could hear Ivy and Jenks bickering in the kitchen and feelings of guilt turned sour in my gut.

"God, Rachel, you're fine," I said, reaffirming my autonomy. With a surprising jolt, I was suddenly acutely aware of Bis crawling on the ceiling, headed towards me, and he was more than aware of me too. _Sweet fairy farts, I was free. _I rubbed my wrist gently where the silver had slightly burned as I had removed its charm. I reached out with my senses, feeling the ley-line magic pulsating seductively around me. Slowly, I began to tap into one of the strong Cincinnati ley-lines beneath the sanctuary. Energy flowed through me like caffeine in the early morning. My face flushed, jeez, I had forgotten how great ley-lines felt flowing through my veins. It had been too long.

And then I sneezed. Once, twice, three times. _Son of a bitch!_ A prickling in the back of my mind told me something was off. The air felt static and a deafening roar overcame the squeal of pixy voices in the garden. Al? How did he sense me so soon? He wasn't in my thoughts and I didn't have my scrying mirror, but I could feel his anger tightening in my chest. The scent of burnt amber began to seep into the room. I was being summoned into the ever-after. I gasped as I felt my aura slipping through space. _So soon?_

* * *

><p>"YOU TREACHEROUS BITCH" Algaliarept's voice resonated through my shaking limbs as I was thrown sideways against a thick bedpost. <em>Bedpost? Where the hell am I? <em>

"YOU WERE DEAD" Al roared as he bent over me, hands outstretched in pure rage. He grabbed me by the bicep, sharp nails bruising my flesh as I flung into a wall.

"Hey, asshole! A simple 'Nice to see you, I'm glad you're not dead' would do too."

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT KIND OF SHIT I'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH WHILE YOU WERE GONE?"

_Wow, maybe I've mistaken his rage for concern. _My back met the floor again; this time I could feel my rib cage shutter with force. The demon, clad in crushed green velvet, glared at me with red slit goat eyes as he spewed a black curse from his lips. I drew a circle quickly, deflecting his curse, only to engulf the curtains in a fiery green flame. He snarled in Latin as I struggled to regain my breath. "Jesus Al, calm down, I just want to talk" I panted, hands on my knees. I realized suddenly that we were in his bedroom. His bedroom was otherwise striking, a large bed of reds and golds in the middle of the room with curtains hanging from tall bedposts, something modeled after royalty, no doubt, and we were tearing it apart.

"Why did you summon me here, of all places?" I asked, as my circle fell and I lashed out with a curse of my own.

"Because, demon bitch, this is the only place in the ever-after where you are safe from ALL THE OTHER DEMONS WHO WOULD LOVE TO STEAL YOU AWAY FROM ME AND RAPE YOU" he bellowed, ungloved fists forward, but not before I ducked and scored a quick jab to the groin. Al recoiled for a split second, but lashed outward nonetheless causing me to fall, face first, into a musty amber scented oriental carpet. He leapt on top of me, my arms pinned to the ground, my diaphragm pushing firmly against my aching ribs. "No!" I groaned. A wave of ley-line energy crashed through my body as bile rose into my throat and a bittersweet whisper of pleasure allowed the nerve endings in my fingertips to leave me writhing in pain and disgust. Al knelt down, full weight pressing me into the thick carpet. Licking his lips, he whispered in my ear, "You shouldn't have come back, but oh how I've missed you, Rachel Mariana Morgan" His saliva sprayed my face as I closed my eyes in a moment of sheer horror. If I had been standing, my body would have buckled in both pleasure and fear. I realized then that I had missed him too. Having once been mentally intimate with Al before, it was hard to warn off the subtle attraction he could arise within me. _He knew everything about me, every single friggin' thing. _

But I knew I could pull the ley-line magic back through him, and he knew that too. As I began, slowly, painfully, Al started to lose strength. Yet, somewhere deep inside our joined subconscious, both he and I knew we weren't trying to kill each other. I wouldn't kill him, but I could if I wanted to. I rolled out from under him, getting into a dominant position I straddled him, this time I was the one pinning arms down. " Still helpless against the demon bitch, Algaliarept?" He held still, staring deep into my eyes, a bitter anger mixed with sexuality, pain and _betrayal? _Did he really feel that I had betrayed him because I didn't tell him I was alive? I softened, trying to explore his eyes deeper, until his head crashed into my nose and I jumped back into a guarded position.

"Something changed while you were _dead, _demon girl..." he grinned, showing white, perfect teeth instead of his typical canine incisors. I blushed, but my eyes still narrowed, "Not a chance, you son of a bitch." Even as I hurled a fast uppercut towards Al's jaw, hoping to break those pearly whites, I felt a tingling in my chest and I was suddenly alert to the tension in the room. _Uh oh, something had definitely changed..._He caught my fist and threw me back against the wall, this time I was standing. Knee in between my legs, he had me pinned. "I could kill you right now," he murmured, only half serious. His muscles pressed against me as he leaned forward, not in attack, but to rest his forehead against the cool wall behind me. He was panting, not with lack of physical endurance, but because every breath we took was aching with sexual tension. Each time he inhaled his chest brushed against mine, each time he exhaled was like tearing him away from me and I only wanted more.

I hated him. I loved him. I didn't know what I felt. All I knew was that I had gone too long without power, too long without energy pulsating through my nerves, and he was the closest thing that I had to the tangible passion I felt for the magic in the ever-after. I needed to expel the dangerous adrenaline that was coursing through my veins _right now_.

His lips graced the side of my face and sent shivers to the tips of my toes. I could feel his breath in my ear, and I willed him closer. He smelled like amber and sweat and something earthy, like passion. My body nearly convulsed against him and I felt my knees weaken. He forcefully slid my arms upward and held me almost hanging, almost ripping my shoulders from their sockets and I groaned half in pleasure, half in immense pain. He thrust himself against my pants, as his muscled chest pushed against my breasts. Gently, he kissed the bruise on my bicep.

This position hurt, and I was afraid my shoulders really would disconnect. In a quick instance I swung my legs around his midsection with so much force that we fell backwards, half onto the side of his bed. Somewhere, deep inside me, I tingled with the distinct urgency of sex. This time, Al slipped the line that was pulsating through him, into me, and I gasped with amount of energy that flowed through us willingly, used for pleasure instead of pain. Haphazardly, I tried to pull away from him but I fell weak to lust. I moaned as Al's mouth finally found mine, his lips surprisingly soft and warm. I pressed my mouth against his passionately; I _needed _more from him, I grabbed his shoulder blades with aching fingers and forced his body harder against me. His lips wandered towards my bare neck, towards my old scars, making me shiver with the burning desire that was spindling inside me. His hands, large and calloused, slid me fully onto the bed, and grabbed me by the hair in a fit full of demon passion. His hands slid up my shirt, grasping for my breasts and contrasting against my smooth skin as I wrapped my legs around him, pulling him into me, feeling him hard against my thigh. For the first time ever, he was nearly speechless, "Rachel" was the only distinguishable sound his lips could part with. He looked down and I could tell he was going to disrobe us, demon style. "Don't," I pleaded, "Let's do this the hard way," and I began to take off his velvety attire, button by button.


End file.
